This sampler is brought to you as part of a series of “Little Gems” that are available as a .pdf download by Hands Across the Sea Samplers.
Amelia Jane’s sampler stitched when she was 10 years old is such a cheery example of a child’s needlework. The use of only two colours, and such Christmassy colours, adds so much to its charm.
The date caught our eye, as February 20 is Nicola’s birthday, and it was our original intention to release the sampler on that date in 2021. However, due to the response to shared photographs of the model being stitched and its Christmas colours, we are releasing the sampler in time for Christmas 2020. After such a dire year, we all need cheering up!
Amelia Jane was baptised on May 22, 1842 in St Nicholas, Compton, Surrey. She had been born in the hamlet of Binscombe to Henry and Jane Chandler. In the 1851 census return the family can be found living at Hookley Lane in the village of Compton. Henry was listed as a gamekeeper.
In the 1861 census Amelia Jane can be found as a nursemaid at the Sun Inn and Brewery at Bridge Street in the historic market town of Godalming. The inn and brewery were owned by a widow, Emma Smeed, and it is probable that Amelia Jane cared for her employer’s four-year-old daughter Alice.
On July 7, 1866 Amelia Jane married George Bedford in Donnybrook, Dublin. Why she married in Ireland we do not know. However, Amelia Jane, George, a licensed victualler, and their three-year-old daughter can be found living in England in the 1871 census return at the White Lion on the High Street in Aston, Birmingham.
We hope that Amelia Jane lived a long life filled with the same joyousness that shines out from the sampler she stitched as a child.
Amelia Jane stitched her sampler with cross stitch over 2 strands of linen. The project has been rated as suitable for needleworkers of all levels of ability and can be stitched either on Aida, Linaida, or linen.
Included in the pdf download are four graphs.
Graph 1 ~ A nine-page colour block and symbol graph.
Graph 2 ~ A one-page colour block and symbol graph intended to be viewed/used on your tablet, phone, or PC.
Graph 3 ~ A nine-page black and white symbol graph.
Graph 4 ~ A one-page black and white symbol graph intended to be viewed/used on your tablet, phone, or PC.
At the very core of Hands Across the Sea Samplers there is a team of needleworkers who are passionate about antique samplers and being able to share those samplers with you. Hands Across the Sea Samplers are on hand to help those stitching our charts.
If you need assistance or have any questions, we can be reached via email, address shown below, or the contact page on our website. Our website has stitching tutorials which can be found in the “Sewing Basket and Tools” section.
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